Our Story

Real Life Community Church was organized as Mattoon First Chuch of the Nazarene in 1934. The first congregation purchased an existing church building on the corner of 23rd Street and Champaign Ave in Mattoon, Illinois. The present facility occupies the same corner today, the address being 2220 Champaign Avenue.

In 1966, under the leadership of Rev. Gerald Van Tine, the original building was removed and a new facility was built. It was constructed in two phases, with the present Worship Center being the second phase.

In the early 1970's, under the leadership of Rev. John Ruzich, property was purchased at 2300 Champaign Avenue and an Educational Center built on that site. Under the direction of Pastor Walter Sheets, that facility was remodeled and now houses the Adult Education Center and the R.E.A.L.I.T.Y Youth Center.

Pastors Walter and Barbara Sheets joined our church family in March of 2004. Under their new leadership the church name was changed to Real Life Community Church. Worship services became "come-as-you-are" offering a blend of traditional and contemporary music. Pastor Sheets offers a style of messages that are contemporary to the lives of men and women today. The messages are real, relevant, and yet have not lost the centrality of the Bible. Contagious Small Groups were introduced with groups meeting at the church and in homes around the region.

In 2007, the RLCC church board and congregation voted to offer all of our properties for sale with the goal of purchasing new properties that would allow us continual space to grow. At the present time we are seeking God's direction for that location.

RLCC will continue to offer ministries as God opens doors ahead for us. We look for new and better ways to serve our community with an outreach program designed to impact the greater region. We now draw people from Coles, Cumberland, Douglas, and Shelby Counties. It is our goal to offer ministries and programs that will impact our community for the glory of God.